Deck 7: Ethical Issues Regarding Emerging Technologies

Question 1

According to Deborah G. Johnson in "Privacy and Internet Ethics" one of the central moral objections to the infringement on privacy committed by the increasing use of technology is:

A)Too much information in the hands of the government invites abuse.
B)Reliance on computer information precludes us from making a personal case when decisions are made.
C)The increasing use of computers will minimize human interaction and contact.
D)We need privacy and the capacity to control the information we provide in relationships in order to operate as autonomous beings.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

True or False: A primary concern in "Intellectual Property and Pharmaceutical Drugs: An Ethical Analysis", is that profits should never trump the right to basic health care and access to medicine.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

True or False: Werhane and Gorman do not argue the notion that, in the short-run, the elimination of patent laws would benefit consumers by way of lower drug costs but that long-term effects may not be as favorable.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

According to "Internet Content Providers and Complicity in Human Rights Abuse," Jeffery D. Smith sees which of these actions as a potential violation of human rights

A)Filtering information
B)Turning over personal information in order to aid in the prosecution of Chinese citizens for unlawful political speech
C)Gathering information about the Internet activities of individuals
D)All of the above

Question 5

True or False: According to "Internet Content Providers and Complicity in Human Rights Abuse," Jeffery D. Smith would likely contend that direct violations are the most morally problematic form of complicity in human rights violations

Question 6

True or False: Jeffrey Smith cites regulatory efforts to block access to Web sites, filter information, shut down information portals, and gather information off the Internet on activities of individuals as a violation of basic human rights.

Question 7

True or False: the panoptic gaze is highlighted as a metaphor in "Privacy and Internet Ethics" to demonstrate notions of power and control by organizations and institutions.

Question 8

True or False: De George explains that the Orphan Drug Act encourages and provides incentives for pharmaceutical companies to develop drugs to treat small markets unlikely to allow for profit.

Question 9

True or False: Deborah Johnson, in line with her essay, "Privacy and Internet Ethics", would determine that facts in the case "Privacy at MyFriends.com" call for immediate discontinuation of the social networks' use of the developers sharing personal information.

Question 10

True or False: Werhane and Gorman would argue that in the case "Patents and the African AIDS Epidemic", pharmaceutical companies are obliged to creatively seek out ways to provide easier and more affordable AIDS treatment to developing nations.

Question 11

In "Internet Content Providers and Complicity in Human Rights Abuse," Jeffery D. Smith argues that ICPs operating in China:

A)Must proactively seek out ways to adhere to Chinese law, even if not explicitly stated, since to not do so would jeopardize their future operations in the country; a violation of their fiduciary duties to their stockholders.
B)Must cease operating within countries such as China who demand actions that lead to the violation of human rights.
C)Must strive to passively resist Chinese laws that will likely lead to human rights violations by only following strict demands made by the government.
D)Are absolved of all moral responsibility for their actions since it is the Chinese government that is truly responsible for the human rights violations committed.

Question 12

True or False: "Social media and the Modern Worker" highlights several examples of employees being fired over content on their Facebook pages but only for specifically disparaging their employer.

Question 13

True or False: In "Privacy and Internet Ethics", Deborah Johnson's main argument for the continued use of technology to mine greater amounts of personal data is that if people are doing nothing wrong, there is really no need to worry.

Question 14

In "Intellectual Property Rights, Moral Imagination, and Access to Life-Enhancing Drugs" the central thesis that Patricia H. Werhane and Michael E. Gorman argue for is:

A)Solving epidemics such as the AIDS crisis requires developing a new mental model which brings many different actors together to pursue a common goal.
B)Copyright protection of pharmaceuticals is not justified because of the limitations it places on access to life saving drugs.
C)Tackling existing and emerging diseases requires an increase in commitment of money and resources into research and development of new drugs.
D)That the developed world has a stronger obligation to eradicating diseases within their own communities than they do abroad.

Question 15

True or False: In "Intellectual Property and Pharmaceutical Drugs: An Ethical Analysis", De George might summarize the standard argument for intellectual property rights as one of justice and utilitarian concerns.

Question 16

True or False: De George laments that the U.S Government does nothing to encourage the development of drugs to treat those living in tropical, developing countries and assumes the governments in such countries are responsible for research and development regarding treatment of their citizens.

Question 17

True or False: Advances in technology, as highlighted by Johnson in "Privacy and Internet Ethics", have allowed us to all but erase the effect of erroneous information on individuals' lives.

Question 18

True or False: Copyright and patent laws, as pointed out by Werhane and Gorman, are unique to the U.S. and aren't found elsewhere in the world.

Question 19

True or False: Taking away intellectual property protection, as suggested in "Intellectual Property Rights, Moral Imagination, and Access to Life-Enhancing Drugs", may serve to actually increase health disparities between developed and developing nations.

Question 20

According to Richard T. De George in "Intellectual Property and Pharmaceutical Drugs: An Ethical Analysis" pharmaceutical companies justify their high profits by arguing that:

A)They are merely a business and as such have a right to their profits.
B)The market sets the price for drugs and that it is inherently inefficient to arbitrarily set prices.
C)The pharmaceutical industry is a risky business. They need high profits in order to secure investment needed for continued research and development.
D)The most expensive drugs always have cheaper alternatives and it is the choice of the consumer to determine if the added cost is justified.

Question 21

Name three of the five ways that Deborah Johnson explains technology has changed information gathering in society.

Question 22

According to Jeffery Smith, what basic human rights are violated by Chinese regulatory efforts on the internet

Question 23

In "Privacy and Internet Ethics" Deborah G. Johnson presents arguments designed to show the positives and negatives of our increased capacity of technology to gather, store, and manipulate information. Evaluate how our enhanced capacities have the potential to both benefit and harm the social welfare. Which do you find stronger Is there a way to embrace the benefits of technology without risking the harms to the social good she envisions

Question 24

In "Intellectual Property and Pharmaceutical Drugs: An Ethical Analysis", Richard T. De George lays out what he calls the "Status Quo" and "Standard" approaches as defenses of current pharmaceutical practices. Evaluate these arguments regarding ethical pricing of pharmaceuticals. Then, using De George's suggestions, determine steps toward an alternative regulation of the industry and patent systems to control prices.

Question 25

Name the two market failures highlighted by De George that help explain the Production Obligation. One is related to a type of drug while the other is related to disease.

Question 26

Highlight two ways as highlighted by Deborah Johnson that enhanced information gathering and storage has enabled organizations to operate for the better.

Question 27

In "Internet Content Providers and Complicity in Human Rights Abuse" Jeffery D. Smith argues that while ICPs may be complicit in human rights abuse they may strive to minimize their complicity. Do you believe that the strategies he imagines are sufficient to absolve ICPs of any moral wrongdoing that arises from their complicity in these abuses. Why or why not. If not what do you believe that ICPs should do

Question 28

Werhane and Gorman describe situations when health and security concerns have "trumped" intellectual property rights. What situation can you imagine would call such measures

Question 29

Werhane and Gorman argue that intellectual property is hardly the result of one company's hard work but instead is developed from a complex set of relationships that often goes back centuries and is often causally ambiguous, making it difficult to parse out responsibility. They turn to their "alliance model" to address a new mental model of approaching intellectual property and the pharmaceutical industry. Evaluate the five points to the model.

Question 30

Werhane and Gorman conclude their essay by suggesting that there is a clear difference between equality as a principle and treating every individual as an equal. Explain this difference. How does it tie into the Alliance Model for the pharmaceutical industry and intellectual property